I have to say, I do like vegemite though - but it is completely different from Marmite. Marmite is much stronger tasting. But vegemite is ok, particularly if there is no Marmite. Or you wake up having kipped on the floor of a flat share in Earl's Court after a Friday night out. Then, it's best to claim vegemite on toast is the best thing ever... ;D ;D ;D

I freeze them overnight or for a morning in general, but if she's new to them, she might find it easier if you let them only just freeze - or take them out for a little while to soften up before giving them to her. Some pups take a while to work out frozen kongs. Mine had no trouble at all, though, and enjoyed them frozen from the get-go

I love this! We were panicked as to what to put in our pups kong considering she is only 9 weeks old. I found something on line that said to moisten her kibble in water. Spoon it into her kong and freeze it over night! She loves it and doesn't even notice that we've left. I feel better giving her kibble at such a young age then something foreign that could upset her stomach.

I'm a bit the same as Julie be honest...I probably also didn't go down the huge variety route as Dexter had ( maybe still has ?) a sensitive tummy.I did used to steam chicken,use the broth to soak the kibble,smash up sea biscuits,skin and shred up roast chicken ,mush up sardines and soak kibble in sardines and use dry kibble.I would have all these ingredients lined up in bowls and have a kong making fest at the weekend to stock up for the week.WhenDex had problems with his ears last year I had to run a food test on him where all he could have was his kibble,so kongs were made up of soaked kibble in water and dry kibble for a bit of texture and variety.These were no less enthusiastically received than the more exciting ones and they lasted exactly the same time.Nowadays I soak kibble, shove a sea biscuit or something similar from fish4dogs in,then a bit more soaked kibble to seal it...kong production is much quicker! X

I am new to puppyhood and Kongs. Holly is a lab/golden retriever mix and is 9 weeks old. What size Kong would you use for that age? We bought a small one. I put organic peanut butter in it and froze it. But, the bottom of the kong was still stuffed full and drying out. How long can these be outside of the refrigerator? How do they get to the bottom of the Kong, or do they ever? Should we buy a bigger one so she can get to the inside easier? Thanks!

I am new to puppyhood and Kongs. Holly is a lab/golden retriever mix and is 9 weeks old. What size Kong would you use for that age? We bought a small one. I put organic peanut butter in it and froze it. But, the bottom of the kong was still stuffed full and drying out. How long can these be outside of the refrigerator? How do they get to the bottom of the Kong, or do they ever? Should we buy a bigger one so she can get to the inside easier? Thanks!

Click to expand...

We stuff them with soaked kibble, from their food allowance, then freeze - it can then be licked out at the pup's leisure and is far less fattening than peanut butter (they have three kongs a day)

We use the medium sized extreme (black) Kongs from 10 weeks onwards, then when they grow up they can't just squeeze the whole thing to get the food out! I have nine which I keep ready stuffed in the freezer, then we have spares in case of visitors, human visitors that is - to keep the dogs busy and not fussing lol http://tinyurl.com/ze6bqh9

I am new to puppyhood and Kongs. Holly is a lab/golden retriever mix and is 9 weeks old. What size Kong would you use for that age? We bought a small one. I put organic peanut butter in it and froze it. But, the bottom of the kong was still stuffed full and drying out. How long can these be outside of the refrigerator? How do they get to the bottom of the Kong, or do they ever? Should we buy a bigger one so she can get to the inside easier? Thanks!

I don't freeze kongs routinely anymore (although like Mags I do keep a small stack in the freezer for when I just urgently need a kong) I used to but gave up doing so. This is because my dog got better and better at emptying kongs - and he can squeeze the block of frozen food out - so in the end I bought bigger and bigger tougher and tougher ones, and now there is always a tiny bit of food left in the bottom of his kong when I get home, and he brings me the kong so I can poke it out for him. In some ways, this is exactly what you want - for the dog to have to try quite hard to get the food out, but not quite manage every last bit. So the kong keeps him occupied for as long as possible.

But this is the end result you want, with an adult dog. First, you have to sort of get them 'addicted' to kongs, so they will keep working at them for quite a long time without giving up. So you should start with a tiny puppy with small kongs, super delicious stuff, and probably not frozen. So they can finish the whole kong. Then you can make it a bit harder, and then you can stuff them with quite boring stuff - which means a bit of food goes a long way, and so you can leave them with a stack of quite difficult kongs if you are going out for a few hours.

In terms of how long things can be kept out of the fridge - the same time as for food you would eat. I would always discard any food left over that my dog didn't eat (or I couldn't poke out of the kong). If I'm not freezing kongs, I prepare them the night before and store them in tupperware in the fridge for when I need them.